Directed by Leo Hoorn, after a two-year attempt, ski mountaineers Christina ‘Lusti’ Lustenberger and Jim Morrison, joined by Nick McNutt and Chantel Astorga, ski the first descent of the Great Trango Glacier. They navigate risk, grapple with grief, and face physical danger as they push the limits of human experience.

Unsurprisingly for a documentary based in such a breathtaking natural landscape, Trango boasts some exceptional visuals. It’s inherently satisfying to watch them move through the majestic mountains, with their jagged symmetry and the beautiful snow. So, undeniably that sort of aesthetic is always going to make a film worth watching, meaning that its true sign of success is the rest of what it has to offer.

Leo Hoorn takes on an intimate, personal style with Trango, which was a great choice. Making it more about their individual journeys than simply the grand nature of their challenge. Especially in how it shows a healthy respect for nature, it’s not an old-fashioned, egotistical view or an unabating determination to push forward, the subjects acknowledge the kind of risks they’re taking. It’s a refreshing change of pace, with so few examples putting focus on that element, even though it’s unquestionably the most important aspect of any adventure of this nature. They recognise that they could easily die on that mountain, and make choices which reflect that, no matter their deep desire to conquer it.

However, there is one key element that fights against that respect for nature and intimate style, and that’s having the The North Face logo in about every other shot. Yes, it makes perfect sense for a project they have a hand in to use their products, but it being so inescapably noticeable, and in so many shots, it makes it feel too commercial. Something that’s completely at odds with the type of atmosphere that Hoorn is attempting to create. Making it instead almost feel like an extended marketing campaign rather than a true documentary. Especially with it coming in at less than fifty minutes.

Trango is well shot, it contains some fantastic visuals and to see the subjects ski down such an epic, treacherous trail is undoubtedly captivating but it’s missing something to take it deeper. The emotions are there and it feels like it comes from a personal place, but it’s still not quite offering enough. There’s no larger background or context added to the current day adventure, lacking those elements to layer its story. It’s good but it doesn’t have what it needs to make it great.

Verdict: ✯✯✯½ | 7/10

Available on VOD from February 13